The council also considered a new
business item entitled, “Resolution in
favor of providing support and assistance to military and national security
psychologists striving to abide by the
APA Ethics Code and APA policy. “This
measure would have allowed military
psychologists (in addition to other
psychologists working for detainees) to
provide mental health services to detainees at sites where detainees are denied
protections under the U.S. Constitution,
and/or international law (as determined

APA CONVENTION

APA’S COUNCIL TAKES
FURTHER ACTION ON
INDEPENDENT REVIEW

During APA’s 2016 Annual Convention in Denver, Aug. 4–7, the association’s Councilof Representatives approved revisionsto the APA Ethics Code that prohibitpsychologists from participating intorture and define the term as “anyact by which severe pain or suffering,whether physical or mental, isintentionally inflicted on a person.” Therevision to Standard 3.04 of the EthicsCode (Avoiding Harm) also focuseson the behavior of the psychologistrather than on the setting in which thebehavior occurs.

The revision will become effective on
Jan. 1, 2017, and will be printed in the
December issue of American Psychologist.

The action was in response to last
year’s Independent Review (IR), which
found that APA guidelines related to
psychologist participation in national
security interrogations were no more
restrictive than those of the Department
of Defense. The council voted last August

American Psychological Association

Ne ws

The council revised APA’s
Ethics Code to prohibit
psychologists from
participating in torture.